Posted: Sat 15 Sep 2012, 11:35 Post subject:
Can I run Slacko in a laptop with no hard drive?Subject description: USB 1.1 or CD drive?

I have an old laptop w/XP that has BSOD and will not boot. Don't know the problem and don't know condition of hardware. Just found out that Linux doesn't need HD and I could boot from CD or flash drive. I have virtually NO technical knowledge. Would Puppy Linux Slacko Live CD & wifi 802.11n USB Adapter work to save the machine assuming no hardware damage to prevent it? It would seem to be ready to do it all. My USB is 1.1. Is that compatible with above package? Wifi for internet would be primary use.
Any other Puppy alternatives that someone with very limited knowledge could use?
Is there something available to download that could boot just to see if the hardware is functional?

I have an old laptop w/XP that has BSOD and will not boot. Don't know the problem and don't know condition of hardware. Just found out that Linux doesn't need HD and I could boot from CD or flash drive. I have virtually NO technical knowledge. Would Puppy Linux Slacko Live CD & wifi 802.11n USB Adapter work to save the machine assuming no hardware damage to prevent it? It would seem to be ready to do it all. My USB is 1.1. Is that compatible with above package? Wifi for internet would be primary use.
Any other Puppy alternatives that someone with very limited knowledge could use?
Is there something available to download that could boot just to see if the hardware is functional?

What make/model laptop are you using? What wireless USB adapter are you using?

Thanks for the reply.
The laptop is Gateway, Model 450SX4. The wireless USB adapter is Tenda Mini 11N, Model W311M.
I have no intention of again running XP. Anyway, I don't have any install disks. Not furnished.
I have no desire to save anything. Important stuff had already been moved to new computer. I'm just trying to save the machine for some use rather than throw it away. My thought was to remove the HD and boot only Puppy Linux (if hardware is able and I am able to understand what I am doing).

First
There is really not a need to concern yourself with XP as Puppy does NOT intend to "attach" the HDD in the Laptop. To do so requires a manual action on your part to "see" any files on that HDD. And, Puppy does not modify any XP files. Only you can use tools to modify anything on the XP drive.

If you do have a concern about the integrity of the information on your HDD and want to insure that it is impossible to touch, then remove it; turn the laptop over and unsnap it.

Ir you have been using your XP for many years, you may want to have Puppy access those files for Puppy is fully capable of making use of those files in the same manner as XP did...for the most part.

Next, Puppy on Laptop from CD/DVD
I am going to assume you have already used a tool to take the ISO and make a bootable CD/DVD. Assuming you have a bootable CD/DVD, you are armed and ready to boot your Laptop. The simple requirement is to tell the Laptop to boot from the CD/DVD. This can be done in one of 2 ways:
hit the Laptop"s "F" key (for example F1, F2, F8, F10, F12 - depending on which manufacturer makes your laptop) and select the CD/DVD.

That's it. This will get you to a Puppy desktop. If your laptop has 1GB of RAM, I recommend you start with FATSlacko as it negates the need to access and add many subsystem functions you are accustomed to with XP, (If you have a 64bit capable CPU, LightHouse64 also gives you an out-of-the-box (OOTB) full XP experience.

Lastly
Doing this, you are on your way. Post us back if you have other questions about using your laptop for booting Puppy.

When you do get Puppy running, there is a forum thread with addresses using the particular distro you select. There is one for Slacko, FATSlacko, and LIghthouse64 as well as all of the other particular distros available.

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My thought was to remove the HD and boot only Puppy Linux (if hardware is able and I am able to understand what I am doing).

Assuming you have access to another (working) computer and having read your posts I suggest you just download the .iso and burn it (as a disc image, not a copy of the .iso) to create your bootable Live CD. This is the best place to start. Very quick and easy to do.

I wouldn't remove the HD yet. If the XP problem was software you may be able to use the HD in several ways to run or install Puppy later.

Pop the Live CD into the laptop drive and power up. Chances are it will boot like that if the hardware is OK._________________Oscar in England

gc---
I have NOT "already used a tool to take the ISO and make a bootable CD" because at this point I didn't know what to do. What "tool"? Is there just one ISO on Puppy site to take? I've done a lot of googling and I'm intimidated and confused by the steps to follow to do a successful burn such as typing commands. Is there a choice to just click and burn? I have never burned a CD.
So, FATSlacko would be an additional burned CD? Any problem with it and an old machine? The Puppy site mentions some versions might not work on older machines and suggested Wary Puppy for oldies.

Oscar---
I have never burned so I am new to the process.
You say "download the .iso". Download to where? My Documents? Where do I find the .iso? Search the Puppy site and there is just one?
You say "burn it as a disc image, not a copy of the .iso". You lost me. When it is downloaded someplace (saved) then it is an image? Or rather during the burning process are there options such as image or copy?

Oscar---
I have never burned so I am new to the process.
You say "download the .iso". Download to where? My Documents? Where do I find the .iso? Search the Puppy site and there is just one?
You say "burn it as a disc image, not a copy of the .iso". You lost me. When it is downloaded someplace (saved) then it is an image? Or rather during the burning process are there options such as image or copy?

You can always go to http://puppylinux.com and follow the links from there to find where you can download the .iso files from. The ibiblio download site can be very slow, the mirrors (such as nluug) are often much faster.

You can download these to anywhere, so long as you know where you put them. The My Documents folder is fine.

Obviously you will need blank CD's (or DVD's). Probably best to use re-writable ones but they don't have to be.

Then you need some burner software. Not sure what operating system you are using. With XP you have to download something. I have used Infra Recorder in the past. Win 7 has burner software included I believe, but I have never used Win 7.

The option "burn image" or something similar should be a fairly obvious button or selectable item in the menu of the burner software application. You then have to select the downloaded .iso from the location where you saved it (eg My Documents). There may be a couple of other clicks to make. Select a low value for the burn speed for example, and then let it do its thing and you should have a bootable Live CD in a few short minutes.

After the burn, one test you can do is look at the files on the CD using Windows Explorer. If it is just one .iso file on the disc you have made a copy (which is wrong). If you see a cluster of files you have burned an image of the .iso (which is correct).

You can also try the Live CD on any other working computers you have. Just power up with the CD in the drive and it should boot into Puppy without affecting the Windows installation or anything on the HD at all._________________Oscar in England

Oscar--
Puppy booted!!!
Could not connect to internet. I went through the wizards, but nothing helped.
I have not tried Help. Will do so tomorrow and probably Google. I have a wireless router located very close. The wireless USB adapter on the laptop worked fine for internet, but it was downloaded to the HD and no help now. Could it be downloaded to RAM as is Puppy? Any other suggestions for the internet problem? Being online was to be the main use for the machine, but at least it has some use and saved from discarding. For that I am very grateful for your help. You have been extremely patient with me.

James--
I use Windows 7 and was pleased to see it has Windows Disc Image Burner which made it fool proof for me. I sure need that kind of help.

Wireless USB adapters can sometimes prove a bit fiddly to get going. I am no expert on them as I have only ever used one. With that one I had to use the network wizard and the series of steps I had to go through were quite complicated.

With Windows you normally have to install drivers but with Puppy this is usually not the case. The drivers are supposedly included in the Linux kernel as modules. Which Puppy did you boot into? Slacko and Wary do have different kernel versions so if one didn't work it may be worth trying the other.

I know you want to use the laptop as a portable, but if it has an ethernet port you can plug in a cable just to test (connect the cable and reboot if it doesn't auto-detect). There is another wizard / network tool called Frisbee which may be better at detecting and configuring the USB adapter. Saluki Puppy has Frisbee by default and works more easily with my adapter. If it turns out that your adapter is not supported then it may be a case of hunting round for one that is, but one way or another I am sure you will be able to get something up and running.

By the way, how much RAM does the laptop have? Also it would be interesting to know if you are able to create a save-file on your HD at first shutdown. If so this is an indication of nothing physically wrong with the HD._________________Oscar in England

Apparently the only choice provided by Wary is "eth0", but all attempts say eth0 provides "Wired" access and all configuration tries results in no connection because ethernet is not connected. It appears that Wary will not connect wireless. So I tried ethernet and I am now connected and typing this on Wary.
You mentioned Saluki. Would I need to burn that .iso to CD as I did for Wary? Would it also be saved in RAM? If so, would I need to delete Wary from RAM? How?
I have 512MB. I didn't attempt to create save-file on HD. Instead added to CD (I think). I wasn't sure what I was doing. Wary went through it's thing and shut down.Whatever it did I didn't see any benefit when I again booted. Wary still went through all of the downloading process and asked me to make various choices as it did originally. After sending this I will try to save-file to HD.
P.S.
When I logged off I was not given opportunity to save-file to HD. Apparently the choice can only be made once.
Checked out Saluki. It is for new machines and new hardware.
Assuming my HD is OK, could I install Linux on the HD and it would boot and run even though I can't boot windows or does the HD operate independently?

The "eth0" is your ethernet card so looks like Wary is not seeing your USB adapter as things stand. Hopefully someone else more experienced than me will chip in with some advice about this.

Saluki and Slacko are both designed more for newer hardware but they may work. Once you know how to burn Live CD's it is simple to try them. You don't need to delete anything from RAM. It is all gone when you power down and loads everything from the CD again at boot-up so swap CD and you swap distro.

If you tried to save the data back to the CD I am wondering if that has not worked properly. If a save-file has been created somewhere then Puppy assumes you don't need to be offered that option again, but it sounds like settings are not being stored. There are various things I can think of that you could try here, but maybe best to burn a fresh Live CD and boot again but this time at first shutdown make sure you create the save-file in the HD.

Can you see the HD displayed as an icon (or icons) in the bottom left hand corner of the desktop?

If the HD is OK you will be able to wipe the whole thing or partition a section of it off and install Puppy. It would also be a good idea to allocate 1 to 2 gigs of it as a Linux swap partition. This backs up the RAM if you are browsing pages (eg with embedded videos) which need lots of it. Puppy has Gparted and Puppy Universal Installer in the menu which will do this, but no urgency as running from Live CD is fully functional._________________Oscar in England

@ hhm7163, to save to the CD, the CD must have been burned as a multisession CD and not closed. The Windows program you used to burn the Puppy CD may not have done it the right way for you to save to the CD (called a multisession Puppy.)

However since you now have a Puppy CD that boots, you can use the burning program in Puppy to make a CD that you can save to. Actually Puppy comes with two burning programs that will do the job. Menu -> Multimedia -> Burniso2cd is specialized for burning Puppy CDs and DVDs. Menu -> Multimedia -> Pburn is a general burning program for CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray disks. It's a bit harder to use because of all the options it gives you, but it will burn a multisession CD or DVD too.

I highly recommend using a CD-RW if you have one, at least until you get comfortable burning Puppy CDs. Pburn can blank it as well as burn a new Puppy on it.

You need to tell us how much RAM is in the laptop. Or did I miss that?

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